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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28603560">Four For The Road</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpongeAddict/pseuds/SpongeAddict'>SpongeAddict</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Scooby Doo: Origins [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Scooby Doo - All Media Types, Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated (Cartoon 2010)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:07:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,632</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28603560</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpongeAddict/pseuds/SpongeAddict</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Origins" finale! The summer after senior year, Fred suggests a road trip. But a run-in with old friends and a new mystery turns this vacation dangerous. Now it's a race to the West Coast before they run out of time. This danger is more real than they could have ever imagined. Shelma and Fraphne. Rated T for language and other mature themes.</p><p>Ch 1: I Play The Road<br/>Ch 2: Those You've Known</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Daphne Blake/Fred Jones, Velma Dinkley/Norville "Shaggy" Rogers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Scooby Doo: Origins [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1653307</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. I Play the Road</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Welcome, my darlings, to the beginning of the long-awaited finale of the Origins series! If you've been with me from the start, I applaud your commitment. If this is your first time tuning in, don't worry! While this does pick up immediately after the last story, Three To Get Ready, you don't have to have read the other stories in this series to enjoy this one, though there will be some fun Easter eggs for those of you who have read through all of the others. There will also be more references to Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated. Also, as I said on Tumblr and FF.net, there will be a real-life mystery-solving element in this story, so be on the lookout for those clues. The clue is embedded in the chapter, but I'll also put it down in the end author's notes.</p><p>Now, let's get started! Warnings: language, mentions of death and divorce, and some kissing. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna Barbera.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Chapter 1: I Play the Road</strong>
</p><p>"A road-trip?"</p><p>Shaggy Rogers nodded at his mother, who had just asked the question. His Great Dane, Scooby Doo, gazed at her stoically. Shaggy glanced around at the other people in the room – his best friends, Daphne Blake and Fred Jones, and his girlfriend Velma Dinkley. They all wore similarly serious expressions as they looked at their parents. Everyone was sitting in Velma's living room. She had just thrown a party to celebrate their high school graduation, which was the reason everyone was here. But now the party was over, and Shaggy and his friends wanted to talk to their parents about their idea.</p><p>"Like yeah," he said to his mother. "You know, the gang and I are all going to different colleges in the fall. We want to see where everyone will be."</p><p>"Obviously we all know Coolsville University already," said Fred, gesturing to himself. Coolsville U, the local college, would be his home come the fall. "But Daphne will be in New York, and Shaggy will be in Chicago, and Velma will be in California."</p><p>"Velm's going to Stanford," Shaggy told his parents. "It's like, right near Vista Heights."</p><p>His parents exchanged a glance. Shaggy and his family had moved from Vista Heights, California to Coolsville, Ohio about two years ago, and he had quickly become inseparable from the other people in the room when they discovered their shared love for solving mysteries.</p><p>"I don't know," Mrs. Dinkley hedged. "Four teenagers and their dog driving across the country by themselves? I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that idea." She glanced at her daughter, who was the youngest of the group. Though everyone had just graduated from high school, Velma was only sixteen. Fred and Shaggy were both eighteen, and Daphne was seventeen.</p><p>Velma sighed, wondering how to calm her mother's worries. She'd always hated being so young, but especially now. While the other parents seemed hesitant, her parents were the only ones who were outright anxious.</p><p>"What if we promise to call home every time we arrive in a new state?" Velma asked. "Or send a text?"</p><p>This seemed to mollify the parents, and they relaxed a little.</p><p>"Can we all confer together?" asked Fred's father, gesturing to the other parents. Mr. Jones was the mayor of Coolsville, and his politician-speak often crossed over into his everyday vernacular.</p><p>"Of course," said Daphne, rising.</p><p>The rest of the gang stood as well and followed her out of the living room. In the kitchen they found Velma's sisters sitting at the table and watching a baby monitor. Velma's older sister Dottie was twenty-five and had an almost two-year-old daughter named Lorelei. A crib had been set up for her in the bedroom of Velma's younger sister Madelyn, who had just turned fourteen. Both Dottie and Madelyn were watching Lorelei's chest rise and fall on the screen of the baby monitor, but they looked up when the gang entered.</p><p>"Any luck?" Dottie asked. She'd been in the room when the gang had first brought up the idea of a road-trip to their parents.</p><p>Velma shrugged. "They're talking it over."</p><p>"That's a good sign," Dottie told them.</p><p>"Where's Bill?" asked Fred, looking around the kitchen. Bill was Dottie's husband, and Lorelei's father.</p><p>"He went to take out the trash," Dottie replied. The front door opened at that moment, and Bill himself walked inside.</p><p>"You want me to put fresh bags in the garbage cans?" he asked Dottie.</p><p>Dottie shook her head. "I already did that," she told him. "But you can help me wash some dishes." She got up from her chair, leaving Madelyn sitting alone with the baby monitor.</p><p>Shaggy sat down in the chair Dottie had just vacated and watched the sleeping Lorelei on the screen. Madelyn noticed and glanced at him.</p><p>"She's cute, isn't she?" she asked him.</p><p>Shaggy nodded slowly. Watching Lorelei reminded him of being ten years old and watching another baby on a similar monitor. He'd had a younger sister for a very short eight months, before she died from what was most likely an intestinal obstruction. Her name had been Margaret – Maggie for short – but Shaggy had always called her Sugie. If she'd lived, she would have been eight years old now.</p><p>He didn't spend much time around children, but when he did, he often found it hard to look away. Sugie had died overnight, and as a kid, Shaggy had convinced himself that if he'd been watching her in the hospital, she would have made it. Of course, he now knew that this was not true – there wasn't anything that could have been done for her. But he still watched Lorelei breathing on the baby monitor as though something would happen to her if he looked away for even a second.</p><p>Scooby came over and laid his chin on Shaggy's knee, and Shaggy put a hand on his head without looking up from the baby monitor. Scooby had joined the Rogers' family shortly before Sugie died, and he knew exactly what Shaggy was feeling.</p><p>The rest of the gang knew about Shaggy's sister as well, and all came to watch the baby monitor with him. Daphne and Fred stood behind him and Velma pulled up another chair to sit on his other side. She reached out and intertwined her fingers with his.</p><p>Shaggy felt a thrill go through him. Holding hands with Velma in full view of people they knew gave him a strange sense of pride.</p><p>For the past year or so, the two of them had been in a secret relationship, and only recently had they made it public. Of course, their timing wasn't great, since they were about to go to colleges that were over two-thousand miles away from each other. Fred and Daphne were in a similar boat – they'd been together for much longer than Shaggy and Velma, but they were also going to different colleges.</p><p>That was part of the reason they all wanted to go on this road-trip. For the past two years the five of them had spent almost every waking moment together (not counting a couple months this past spring when they'd been fighting), but they were about to be separated now by both distance and time. The only ones who'd still be together were Shaggy and Scooby, but for the others, four years and several thousand miles apart would be a lot. And because they'd all spent two months fighting just before they graduated from high school, they felt they had to make up for lost time.</p><p>The reason for their fight had been a stupid one. It had been all about secrets and hurt feelings and pride. If one member of the gang had apologized right away, the whole thing may never have happened. But it had. They may have still been fighting even now, if they hadn't needed to band together to rescue Velma. Last month she'd been abducted by a young man named Leon Berger, who had gone to high school with Dottie, and though he'd been three years her junior, he'd been infatuated with her. He'd discovered Velma's relation and wanted to use her to get to her sister. Luckily, the gang had arrived to save the day before any real harm came to her.</p><p>Their fight had had one positive outcome – it made the gang realize how much they cared for each other. How much they needed each other. It confirmed what they had known from the start. They were a family, the five of them. They always had been.</p><p>The mayor appeared then in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. Everyone turned to look at him, and Shaggy finally wrenched his gaze away from the monitor.</p><p>"All right, you can come back in," he told them. "We've made a decision."</p><p>The gang followed him back into the living room and took their seats again in front of the parents.</p><p>"So," the mayor began. "After some deliberation, we've decided that you can go on your college road-trip together. And we will all finance the journey."</p><p>Everyone in the gang breathed a sigh of relief and outpourings of gratitude issued from their mouths.</p><p>"We do have a few stipulations, however," said Shaggy's mother. "First, please docall us every time you enter a new state. Also please keep the gas tank in your van full – don't wait until you're at a quarter tank to fill up, just in case something goes wrong. And please stay together at all times – no splitting up for any reason."</p><p>"Even if we're solving a mystery?" asked Fred.</p><p>"Man like, we're going on a college road-trip," Shaggy laughed. "Why would we be solving a mystery?"</p><p>"Because it's what we do," Velma reminded him with a chuckle.</p><p>"So when should we leave?" asked Daphne.</p><p>"How about tomorrow morning?" Fred replied.</p><p>Everyone stared at him.</p><p>"I don't know…" hedged Mrs. Dinkley. "Isn't that a little…soon? You really should plan a bit more. And you need to pack."</p><p>"It's not so late," said Fred. "We can pack now, get a good nights' sleep, and head out in the morning."</p><p>"Where's your first stop?" asked Mr. Rogers.</p><p>There was silence.</p><p>"Ah…" Fred stammered. "I…I guess I didn't think about that." He looked at the others. "Maybe New York?"</p><p>The mayor cleared his throat. "How about this," he spoke up. "The kids pack, then they come to my house, and I help them plot their route. They can spend the night and leave in the morning. How does that sound?" He looked at the teens a little apprehensively, though Fred couldn't imagine why. Maybe his father was worried that the other parents wouldn't like this plan?</p><p>It turned out no one needed to be nervous about that.</p><p>"Oh that's a marvelous idea!" said Mrs. Rogers.</p><p>"Yes," agreed Mr. Dinkley. "Thank you, Fred Senior. We really appreciate that."</p><p>The mayor shrugged humbly, and the gang grinned at each other.</p><p>Since Shaggy and Scooby only lived one street over from Velma's, they decided to stay while she packed, and then she would come to their house to help them pack before Shaggy's dad dropped them off at the Jones'. Shaggy was glad they decided this, as Velma packed several things that Shaggy wouldn't have remembered otherwise.</p><p>"Right like, remind me to pack my toothbrush," he said to Scooby as Velma returned from the bathroom with hers.</p><p>She looked at him incredulously. "Would you honestly forget to pack a toothbrush?"</p><p>"Like dude," Shaggy told her. "I once packed a suitcase full of Scooby Snacks and potato chips, and nothing else. Forgot to pack clothes."</p><p>"Rit's true," Scooby spoke up.</p><p>Velma giggled as she tossed her toiletry kit into her duffel bag. "When was this?"</p><p>Shaggy glanced at her sheepishly. "Two years ago, when we moved here."</p><p>Velma laughed out loud. "Be serious!"</p><p>"Like I am being serious!" Shaggy told her, also laughing. "My mom didn't realize it until we were in Kansas. She was so mad – we had to like, track down the moving truck to find my chest of drawers so I could change." He nudged her with his shoulder. "If you'd been there though, there was like, no way you would have let me get away with that."</p><p>Velma shook her head at him, still grinning. "How in the world did you ever get on without me?"</p><p>Shaggy looked at her and smiled softly. "I didn't," he told her sincerely.</p><p>They gazed at each other; the packing forgotten for the moment. Shaggy was telling the truth – he'd missed Velma fiercely during the brief time in the spring that they'd been broken up. It had been painful in multiple ways to be apart from her, especially since they'd been so angry. He desperately wanted to make up for lost time with her. This road-trip would certainly afford them that opportunity.</p><p>Scooby cleared his throat conspicuously, and Shaggy and Velma glanced away from each other. Truthfully, Scooby didn't mind their relationship – in fact, he was happy for Shaggy. But damn, those longing glances were bound to get annoying.</p><p>"I'm excited to see Vista Heights," Velma said to them, counting the pairs of socks in her bag. There wasn't much she knew about Shaggy's erstwhile hometown, apart from the fact that his sister died there, and it was where he'd started smoking marijuana – a habit he had since quit. She was eager to see the place where her boyfriend had grown up.</p><p>"Me too," Shaggy agreed. "We like, haven't been back since we moved, right Scoob?"</p><p>"Reah," Scooby nodded.</p><p>"There's a lot of memories there," said Shaggy. "Both good and bad."</p><p>Velma glanced up at him, and knew he was thinking about his sister. Instinctively, she reached for his hand.</p><p>He smiled softly at her and pulled her into an embrace. He could feel their hearts beating in time with each other as he held her close. He had missed this – he had missed <em>her</em> – so much more than he would have thought possible. He couldn't believe how much time he'd wasted before. Forgetting for a moment where he was, he brought his arm around her waist to hold her flush against him. Then he bent his face to hers and kissed her tenderly.</p><p>He felt her lips move against his, soft and sweet. Her fingers grasped the front of his shirt, and he moved one hand up to her face and caressed her freckled cheek with his thumb.</p><p>"Rahem," said Scooby pointedly.</p><p>Shaggy and Velma broke apart sheepishly. The dog was shaking his head, but chuckling.</p><p>"Like sorry Scoob," Shaggy apologized. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that a pink blush had tinged Velma's cheeks, and he smiled slightly at the sight. He brought an arm around her waist to pull her closer to him.</p><p>Scooby rolled his eyes, still chuckling. "Rit's rokay," he told them. "Rome on. Ret's pack."</p><p>x.X.x</p><p>Fred had a suitcase open on the floor of his bedroom and weighed two different nets in his hands. "Which do I want to bring with me?" he mused aloud. The two nets had the same tensile strength, but one was slightly bigger than the other – nine feet by twenty-five feet, as opposed to three feet by twenty-five feet. Which would make the most sense to bring along?</p><p>As he wondered, his phone rang on his desk. He tossed both nets into the suitcase and picked up the cellphone to see Tony Moretti's name on the caller ID.</p><p>Grinning, Fred answered. "Hey Tony," he greeted him warmly.</p><p>"Jonesy!" Tony exclaimed in his familiar New York accent.</p><p>Fred could hear his smile through the line. Tony was a kind and happy person, and a good friend to the gang. He'd been at the party earlier that evening when the gang had discussed the road-trip, and Fred was sure that's why he was calling.</p><p>"What'd your folks say about the road-trip?" asked Tony.</p><p>Fred chuckled. He'd been right.</p><p>"We're good to go," he replied. "The gang's gonna come by tonight and my dad's going to help us plot a route."</p><p>"Nice!" Tony cried happily. "Any idea where you're gonna start?"</p><p>Fred shook his head. "Not yet. I think it would make the most sense to start in New York and work our way back west, but we need to talk to my dad first. I think we're going to try to meet up with Holden Walsh while we're there, do you remember him?"</p><p>A slight buzz from the phone let Fred know he'd received a text message, but he ignored it to continue talking to Tony.</p><p>"Oh yeah!" said Tony. "'Course I remember! He was in the musical with us two years ago."</p><p>When they'd been juniors, the gang had been in the school play, <em>Next to Normal, </em>at the behest of Daphne. They'd gotten closer to Tony during the rehearsal process, and made a new friend in Holden, though he had graduated the previous year.</p><p>The doorbell rang from downstairs and Fred peeked out the front window to see Daphne's mother's car driving away. He grinned at his girlfriend's arrival, then frowned. Daphne's parents were going through a rather acrimonious divorce, and it seemed like neither of them had much time for their youngest daughter these days. Mrs. Blake, who was the parent who had attended the party this evening, hadn't even seemed to care much about the road-trip – and clearly, she couldn't be bothered to stick around until Fred answered the door.</p><p>He seethed slightly at Daphne's mother's behavior, but then shook himself. He was just happy Daphne was here, and he knew she was happy to get away from the drama of her home life. He would gladly provide her comfort and distraction, whenever she needed it. The thought of her suffering even a little was unbearable to him.</p><p>"Hey Tony," said Fred. "Daphne just got here, so I gotta go."</p><p>"All right," said Tony. "Have a good time!"</p><p>"Thanks man," Fred replied. Then he hung up the phone and dashed to the door to greet Daphne, determined not to mention either one of her parents unless she brought them up first.</p><p>"Wow," said Fred when he opened the door and saw her standing there. "Only three bags?"</p><p>She giggled and shoved him playfully as she walked inside. "Don't make fun of me, I packed in a hurry."</p><p>"I know, I'm impressed," he told her, closing the door behind her. "You're the first one here."</p><p>Daphne's eyes glinted. "Oh?"</p><p>Fred leaned in to kiss her before Daphne had even had a chance to put her bags down. The ultimate distraction.</p><p>They had talked about consummating their relationship back in the spring, but the gang's untimely breakup had nipped that plan in the bud. Now that Daphne and Fred were back together, they desperately wanted to get their original plan back on track, and they felt as though they'd have ample opportunities on their road-trip. But that didn't mean that they weren't overtaken by the heat of the moment.</p><p>Tongues tangled and teeth nipped as they kissed open-mouthed right in the Jones' foyer, completely caught up in each other. Fred gently pushed Daphne up against the door and placed an exploratory hand at the collar of her dress. He snuck it under her scarf and down towards her perfect chest. She gasped when his fingers made contact and then sighed into their kiss.</p><p>Even after two and a half years, the feel of Fred's lips, the taste of his tongue on hers, always sent Daphne into a dizzying stupor, muddling her brain until she forgot which way was up, confusing her senses until all she felt, all she <em>knew, </em>was him. It electrified her blood and heated her skin. It was all she could do to keep herself tethered to reality by clutching his ascot, closing the distance between them as much as she could. He was the only real thing in the world to her.</p><p>
  <em>KNOCK KNOCK</em>
</p><p>With a groan, the two of them broke apart and glared angrily at the front door, reality an unwelcome intrusion. Daphne fixed her hair while Fred opened the door and Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby entered.</p><p>"Like what's to eat?" asked Shaggy.</p><p>"Reah!" Scooby agreed. "Rye'm rungry!"</p><p>Velma eyed Daphne and Fred suspiciously. "Fred, your ascot is messed up."</p><p>Fred glanced down. The ascot had indeed become undone while he and Daphne had been fooling around. Embarrassed, he fixed it while Daphne and Velma giggled.</p><p>As everyone headed into the den, dragging their stuff along, Fred's cellphone buzzed again in his pocket. He'd forgotten about the text message he'd received while he was on the phone with Tony. He figured it was a congratulations message for his high school graduation, but it came from a number he didn't recognize.</p><p>"What's that?" asked Daphne, noticing Fred's confused frown.</p><p>"Heel 7," Fred read the text message out loud.</p><p>Velma furrowed her brow and reached for the phone. "Who's it from?" she asked.</p><p>Fred shrugged. "I don't know. Not anyone I have in my contacts."</p><p>"Maybe it's like a wrong number?" Shaggy suggested.</p><p>"But what does 'Heel 7' mean?" Daphne wondered.</p><p>Fred shrugged again. "Who knows? Like Shaggy said, it's probably a wrong number."</p><p>The mayor entered the den at that moment, and the strange text message was forgotten. "Oh good, you're all here! Why don't you all have a seat?" His tone was upbeat, but Fred sensed something else underneath. Something was strange. Not wrong, necessarily, but still weird. Fred couldn't quite place his finger on it. It was like that strange apprehension he'd sensed back in Velma's living room.</p><p>Now that Fred thought about it, something had seemed off about his father all day. He'd made a very touching speech at the graduation party that evening, but it seemed to Fred now that there had been something hidden behind that too. Something almost…regretful, or bittersweet. Fred had chalked it up to his father being emotional that his only son had graduated from high school. But the mayor wasn't a particularly emotional man.</p><p>No one else in the gang could tell any different at first, and they sat on the wide leather couch. The mayor took a seat on a cozy armchair, and it was at that moment everyone else finally realized that something was amiss. The mayor wasn't quite looking anyone in the eye, which was very unlike him.</p><p>"What's going on, Dad?" asked Fred.</p><p>The mayor finally glanced up at him.</p><p>To Fred's astonishment, his father's eyes seemed watery.</p><p>"Oh, I'm not ready for this," he muttered so quietly that only Scooby heard. The dog furrowed his brow and stared quizzically at the mayor, who cleared his throat.</p><p>"There's a story I need to tell you, Fred," he began. "A story that perhaps I should have told you a long time ago, though I was asked not to. But…I think it's time you knew."</p><p>Everyone just stared at the mayor, simply waiting for him to go on.</p><p>Mr. Jones sighed. "I know the timing is abysmal," he said. "And again…I'm so sorry. But with the road-trip, and your graduation…I wouldn't feel right if you went without knowing."</p><p>The others remained silent, but now there was an anxious tension in the room.</p><p>The mayor cleared his throat again and reached into a pocket inside his suit jacket. "About nineteen years ago," he continued. "I was getting ready to run for the mayor of Coolsville for the first time. Shortly before the election season began, I was approached by a couple in need of my help. It's time I told you about them."</p><p>Fred noticed the thing in his father's hand was an old yellowed photograph. He reached out to take it, and studied it with the gang. The photograph was of a blonde teenage couple. The young man had short, buzzed hair, and the young woman's hair was pulled up into a perky ponytail.</p><p>"Who are they?" Fred asked.</p><p>The mayor took a deep breath, as though bracing himself. "Their names are Brad Chiles and Judy Reeves, and they're your birth parents."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Those You've Known</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Welcome back! Here's chapter 2! Warning: language and mentions of teen pregnancy and child abandonment. Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna Barbera. All information on criminal trials comes from my friend who’s a lawyer.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Chapter 2: Those You've Known</strong>
</p><p>The gang stared aghast at the mayor, minds reeling with confusion. There were several moments of silence as this information sank in.</p><p>"…Rirth rarents?" Scooby finally murmured, gazing perplexedly at Mr. Jones. That didn't make any sense. The mayor's status as a single parent was well-known throughout the community. Everyone in Coolsville saw how the mayor's devotion to his son met his devotion to his constituents. It was one of the reasons he was so beloved by the people, why they kept voting to re-elect him year after year. And he was a single parent because Fred's mother had abandoned them when he was a baby. Fred had even found the note she'd left behind that confirmed it. That was the story they all knew.</p><p>But apparently, that story was a lie.</p><p>Still reeling, Scooby wrenched his gaze from the mayor to glance around at his friends. Shaggy's jaw had literally dropped, and Velma had furrowed her brow in bewilderment. Daphne kept shooting sidelong glances at Fred, who was gaping at the mayor in stunned disbelief.</p><p>The mayor himself looked rather pained. "I…imagine you have a lot of questions," he said quietly to Fred.</p><p>Scooby knew that <em>he</em> certainly had a lot of questions. He couldn't imagine how Fred must be feeling. He placed a comforting paw on Fred's knee, but the blond boy hardly even glanced at him.</p><p>"I understand that this is overwhelming," said the mayor, now glancing at each member of the gang. "So, I'll start from the beginning."</p><p>Daphne reached out and took Fred's hand to squeeze it comfortingly. He blinked for what felt like the first time and glanced at her gratefully.</p><p>"I first met Brad and Judy in the fall of their senior year of high school," the mayor began. "I was in my late thirties then, getting ready to run for mayor for the first time. They applied to be interns for my campaign team. I admit, I was a little skeptical at first."</p><p>"Skeptical of what?" asked Daphne.</p><p>The mayor shrugged. "I wasn't sure what they hoped to get out of the internship. They were scientists, not politicians."</p><p>"Scientists?" Velma frowned.</p><p>The mayor nodded. "Yes. They'd been accepted to Cornell University's biochemistry program for the fall. Regardless, they turned out to be excellent interns. Hard workers, with great attitudes. I ended up appreciating their help more than I'd anticipated."</p><p>He glanced at Fred now, but didn't let his eyes linger for long. "Soon after they graduated from Coolsville High School, they learned they were pregnant with you."</p><p>Fred just nodded slowly.</p><p>Velma picked up the photo and glanced at it. "Sorry to belabor this point but…you said they were scientists?" she asked, a hint of skepticism in her tone. She thought this couple looked more like a football player and a cheerleader.</p><p>The mayor nodded. "Yes. Like I said, they were planning to study biochemistry at Cornell. I believe they wanted to go to med school afterwards and become obstetricians. They also discussed getting degrees in cryptography, but I think that was more of a fun hobby for them."</p><p>"Rut's ryptography?" asked Scooby.</p><p>"It's the art of writing and solving codes," Velma responded. "Also known as cryptology – but I'm assuming they were more interested in the computer side of coding, given their science background. Though medicine and computer science are completely different fields…"</p><p>Daphne cleared her throat – she felt they'd gotten off topic. "So, they gave Fred up for adoption in order to go to college?" she clarified, trying to see the line of reasoning. It didn't explain how Fred had ended up with the mayor, but it would explain why Brad and Judy weren't around. A teen pregnancy would certainly throw a wrench into plans for further education. Daphne had to admit that she would certainly be feeling the same way if she were in that boat now.</p><p>But the mayor looked hesitant. "Well…yes and no," he hedged.</p><p>Shaggy and Scooby frowned. "Like what does that mean?" asked Shaggy.</p><p>The mayor sighed. "I'm still a bit unclear on these details myself," he admitted. "I mentioned before that they applied for the internship back in the fall, but it wasn't until much later that they became pregnant. They didn't even realize they were expecting a baby until around June. At that point, Judy was about six weeks along."</p><p>Fred did some quick mental math. At least they'd been celebrating his real birthday these past eighteen years.</p><p>"When they told me they were pregnant, I wasn't sure how I could help. But they said they didn't want anything from me. They simply asked me to be your godfather."</p><p>"Hold on," said Daphne, holding up a hand. "<em>God</em>father?"</p><p>"Yes," the mayor replied.</p><p>"How did that get upgraded to 'father?'" asked Velma.</p><p>The mayor sighed once more and leaned forward to rub his temple. When he sat up again, he looked exhausted.</p><p>"As I'm sure you know," he said. "One of the major responsibilities of a godparent is to look after the child should something happen to their parents."</p><p>Daphne sat forward. "So…are Brad and Judy…?" she trailed off. Were they dead? Was that why the mayor took in Fred? If so, that was horrible, but then why was the mayor telling them about it now?</p><p>Mr. Jones shook his head. "I don't know," he told them. "After I agreed to be your godfather, they told me they would defer their acceptance to Cornell for a year so they could be nearby for the duration of Judy's pregnancy. They insisted on a hospital in Columbus, even though it was an hour and a half outside of town, but I didn't think anything of it. I offered to help them as much as I could. I went to many of Judy's ultrasound appointments, at Brad's insistence. And I was there the day you were born. January 19th, just before three in the afternoon, eight pounds, eleven ounces, twenty-two inches long."</p><p>Fred blinked, his throat rather tight. It had been almost nineteen years, and the mayor still remembered details about his birth.</p><p>"In hindsight," the mayor sighed. "I think they wanted me there – at all the doctor visits, and at your birth – for two reasons. The first was so that it would be easier for them to do what they did."</p><p>"What did they do?" wondered Daphne.</p><p>"And," the mayor went on, seemingly not hearing her. "The second reason was…so that I'd grow to care for you. And it worked." He glanced up at Fred a bit sadly. "I've always thought of you as my son, ever since…" he trailed off.</p><p>"Ever since <em>what?" </em>asked Daphne, a bit more fiercely now.</p><p>The mayor finally looked at her. "A few weeks after Judy gave birth, I woke up in the middle of the night to the doorbell ringing. I had only just taken my oath of office, so I was still new to the official mayoral residence." He gestured to the house around them with a shrug. "It took me little while to get downstairs, but once I arrived, I found you asleep on the porch, wrapped in a little blue blanket. I picked you up and looked down the street. I caught Judy's eye through the windshield as Brad backed their car out of the driveway. And then I watched their taillights round the corner and drive away." The mayor said this last very quietly, gazing at Fred in anguish.</p><p>Fred felt as though he'd been punched in the gut. A hot wash of realization flooded his body. All his life, he had believed that he'd been abandoned by his mother. But it turned out that wasn't true. He had been abandoned by <em>both </em>of his parents.</p><p>In an extremely soft voice, he murmured. "So…they just…left me?"</p><p>Daphne squeezed Fred's hand harder.</p><p>The mayor seemed as though his heart was breaking. Briefly, he closed his eyes to collect himself. When he opened them, he reached into the pocket of his suit jacket again and pulled out a faded sheet of paper. The mayor set it on the coffee table and pushed it towards Fred and the gang.</p><p>At first, Fred thought it was the note he'd found as a young teen, the one explaining that his "mother" was leaving him and the mayor. But this note was written in handwriting that Fred had never seen before. With a shaky hand, he picked it up.</p><p>"Mr. Jones," he read aloud, before his throat closed up.</p><p>When he didn't go on, Velma gently took the note from him. Normally she would have let Daphne handle this, but the redhead's eyes had welled with tears, so Velma continued where Fred had left off. "We're sorry we have to leave like this. It breaks our hearts to do it, but it's the only way. We can't get into specifics, but we are in grave danger. Our baby isn't safe with us, and he won't be safe with anyone but you. Most importantly, he absolutely <em>cannot </em>know that we exist until the danger has passed. Please don't tell him about us, and please don't come looking for us yourself. We'll be in contact with you when it's safe again. In the meantime, please find everything you need in the bag.</p><p>"We've named him Fredrick, after you. You'll be an amazing parent to him."</p><p>Fred's throat felt very tight again, and he swallowed several times. Daphne reached into her purse and pulled out a handkerchief to blow her nose. Shaggy and Scooby sniffled and leaned against each other. Even Velma, who normally didn't let her emotions show this way, took a shaky breath and turned to gaze out the window while she collected herself.</p><p>Once she felt in control of her voice again, she exhaled and turned back to the group. "The note mentions a bag," she said to the mayor. "What was in it?"</p><p>The mayor cleared his throat and discreetly rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "Baby things," he replied. "Blankets, toys, diapers." He hesitated. "And a folder full of papers, indicating that I was the biological father."</p><p>Daphne sniffed and blinked rapidly at the mayor. "They forged a birth certificate?"</p><p>"I think they must have used their city hall credentials to do it," the mayor told her. "They went to very intense measures to cover their tracks. That was why they wanted to have the baby in a hospital outside of Coolsville – so it would be easier for them to disappear."</p><p>"So…like, where did they go?" asked Shaggy.</p><p>"I figured they went to Ithaca," Mr. Jones replied. "To start at Cornell. But when I contacted the university, they told me that they'd never arrived for orientation."</p><p>"Wait," said Shaggy. "You like, tried to find them even though they told you not to?"</p><p>"I was worried about them," said the mayor. "It seemed like they were in trouble. I wanted to make sure they were okay."</p><p>"Did you ever figure out what happened to them?" asked Velma.</p><p>The mayor shook his head. "No, but not for lack of trying. Whenever I wasn't working or spending time with Fred, I was searching for Brad and Judy. I was convinced that they'd left some sort of code behind, but the 'clues' I followed usually turned out to be nothing but wild goose chases." The mayor sighed and looked at the gang a bit wryly. "I'm afraid I've never been as good at solving mysteries as you."</p><p>He took a deep breath. "And then, about eight years ago, I got a phone call."</p><p>"A phone call from who?" asked Daphne.</p><p>"Brad," the mayor replied. "He called while Fred was in school – I think you were around ten years old at the time."</p><p>Fred simply nodded.</p><p>"Brad told me that they were getting close to being out of trouble, and to be patient just a bit longer," the mayor said. "He wanted me to be on the lookout for a clue from them so that I would know they were safe. But he also said that if I didn't hear from him or Judy within a week, then something had gone wrong. He was explicit that I didn't say anything to Fred until we knew one way or another. If Brad and Judy contacted me again, then I was free to tell Fred whatever I liked about them."</p><p>"But I assume they didn't call you again," said Velma.</p><p>The mayor nodded. "When I didn't hear from them, I guessed that the danger they were running from had finally caught up with them." He glanced at Fred now. "This was also around the time that you had started asking me questions about your mother in earnest. I was afraid that you would go looking for Brad and Judy and somehow get caught up in whatever danger had found them…so I wrote a fake note from a fake woman, and left it where you would find it."</p><p>"I did find that note," Fred told the mayor. "But not till three years later, when I was thirteen."</p><p>The mayor nodded sadly. "I know," he replied. "I'm so sorry I've lied to you all these years. But Brad and Judy were afraid, and I was too. I didn't know what kind of danger they'd stumbled across – I still don't – but I couldn't risk losing you." The mayor was gazing at Fred with watery eyes.</p><p>"So why tell us <em>now?</em>" asked Velma, all business. "If you haven't heard from Brad and Judy in…what, eight years? Almost nine? Why tell us about them at all?"</p><p>"I <em>had </em>to be the one to tell you," he confessed, still looking at Fred through red-rimmed eyes. "I didn't want you to learn about them on your own, and try as I may to deny it, I always knew you'd find out about them eventually. Better you learn about them from me, so I could explain that I was only trying to protect you, than discover them yourself and think me a dishonest man."</p><p>Fred inhaled shakily. He prided himself on his honesty; he always had. Ironically enough, he'd picked up that trait from his father – that is, the mayor. And he hated being lied to. It was the reason he and Daphne had split up briefly in the spring, the reason the whole gang had split up. And now it turned out that there was nothing honest about his existence at all. His entire life was a lie.</p><p>"And," the mayor continued. "I wanted to give you the chance to look for them, if you wanted to. Heaven knows you've faced dangers in the past – not the least of which what you experienced back in the spring – and now that you're safe, and finished with high school…it seemed an appropriate time." He shrugged. "I couldn't stop you from growing up even if I wanted to," he sighed, smiling proudly at each member of the gang. "I meant everything I said in that toast at your graduation party tonight. You've all grown into such magnificent detectives, finding clues and solving cases that have baffled people twice your age. If anyone could solve the mystery of what happened to Brad Chiles and Judy Reeves, it's you kids."</p><p>The gang glanced at each other. Solving a mystery? While they were on a road-trip? It sounded perfect, like a dream. But there was a problem.</p><p>"We like, don't know where to start," Shaggy pointed out. "You said yourself that like, you don't know where they are."</p><p>The mayor cleared his throat. "Actually," he said. "I might have a starting point for you."</p><p>The gang sat up a bit straighter.</p><p>"Earlier today, before we left for your commencement ceremony, I checked the mail and discovered a package addressed to me, containing a CD. I believe it's from Brad and Judy."</p><p>Velma adjusted her glasses. "What makes you say that?" she asked.</p><p>"It was the debut album of an Irish folk group," the mayor replied. "They liked folk music, always had. I remember them listening to music like this while they worked for me. The group itself is rather new – they're called The High Kings – but it was enough for me to believe that this was the code I'd been awaiting for eighteen years." He gazed at the gang seriously. "I saved the return address from the package." He reached into his suit jacket pocket for a third time, and produced a torn piece of brown paper.</p><p>The gang leaned closer to read it.</p><p>"Farmingdale, New York?" asked Daphne when she saw the address. "Where's that?"</p><p>"Long Island," Velma answered, already looking it up on her phone. "About an hour outside of Manhattan."</p><p>"It appears that they went to New York after all," the mayor said. "Just not where I'd thought they'd gone. But they must be ready for you to know about them now." The mayor sighed again. "Of course, you don't <em>have </em>to look for them if you don't want to. But…if you are so inclined…maybe you can figure out what happened to them."</p><p>The mayor looked pained again. Fred had to admit, he hated seeing him like this<em>.</em></p><p>"You know us," said Fred. "We can't resist a mystery." Then he glanced at the gang. He really should clear this with them first. After all, this was supposed to be a college road trip. "Can we discuss it alone for a minute?"</p><p>"Of course," the mayor replied, swiftly rising and heading towards his study. "I'll give you all some privacy." Quietly, he shut the door, leaving the gang alone in the den.</p><p>"Freddie are you okay?" asked Daphne in an undertone, placing a hand gently on Fred's arm.</p><p>He hesitated for a moment. "Yes," he said, though he wasn't sure if he was. Fred didn't know how to feel about the mayor's involvement – it truly seemed as though he was a simple bystander, doing what he'd been asked to do – but this revelatory bombshell made Fred's head spin and his heart clench. And more than that, the mystery of what had happened to his birth parents, and why they'd left him in the first place, intrigued him in an almost debilitating way.</p><p>He couldn't articulate any of this to the gang. Not that he didn't want to – he just literally <em>couldn't </em>figure out what to say about it.</p><p>So, he simply barreled on.</p><p>"I think mostly I'm curious," he told them. That much was certainly true. What was this danger that had frightened Brad and Judy so much that it had led to them abandoning him on the mayor's porch? Was it still a threat to them? Were they really in trouble? There was only one way to find out.</p><p>Daphne stared intently at Fred. "You want to try to find them?"</p><p>Fred nodded slowly. "Would you mind splitting our time in New York?"</p><p>Daphne shook her head immediately. "Of course not. This is important to you, so it's important to me."</p><p>"To all of us," Velma agreed.</p><p>"Reah," said Scooby loyally. It wasn't like the dog to run headlong into danger like this, but he couldn't help being reminded of when he and Shaggy had first moved to Coolsville. They had discovered pretty soon after they'd moved into their home that there was a monster haunting the woods behind their neighborhood, but Fred, Daphne, and Velma had rushed to their aid to solve the mystery. Of course, it turned out in the end that it wasn't really a monster, just a recently disgraced realtor and his wife, but the gesture was a kind one, regardless. The gang had wanted Shaggy and Scooby to feel safe, to <em>be </em>safe. Scooby wanted the same for all his friends. He'd wanted it for Daphne a year ago, when a phantom had been after her during the school musical. He'd wanted it for Velma last month, when she'd been kidnapped by Leon. And he wanted it for Fred now. He gazed at the blond boy resolutely.</p><p>Fred gazed back. "You really want to do this?"</p><p>"Of course," Daphne repeated adamantly, clutching Fred's hand. Shaggy and Velma also nodded in agreement. Scooby just kept staring determinedly at Fred.</p><p>Fred swallowed. "All right then," he said, nodding once. "Call Holden, Daphne. Tell him we're coming to New York."</p><p>x.X.x</p><p>Later that night, after the gang had spoken to Holden and gotten ready for bed, Daphne lay awake in the mayor's guest room, staring at the dark ceiling above. Her head was still spinning from all the information they'd learned. Fred's secret past. Fred's secret parents. He couldn't truly be as okay as he appeared, could he?</p><p>His room was across the hall, and Shaggy and Scooby were in there with him. It might not hurt to check on him.</p><p>Daphne shifted quietly, glancing over her shoulder at the other bed in the guest room, to make sure Velma was still asleep.</p><p>Only, Velma wasn't in her bed.</p><p>Frowning, Daphne got up and examined the room. She didn't see Velma anywhere. Where had she gone? When had she snuck out of the room? How had Daphne not noticed? Maybe she'd gone to the bathroom – Daphne would find out after she checked on Fred. Quietly creeping out of the room, she padded across the hallway and eased open the door to Fred's room. She saw him sleeping soundly on his top bunk, as Shaggy and Scooby both snored lightly on the lower one.</p><p>A rush of affection flooded Daphne's heart as she watched Fred's chest rise and fall. She wanted so badly to crawl up there and snuggle up beside him, but she knew it was a bad idea with Scooby and Shaggy in the room – and with Fred's dad (not-dad?) right down the hall.</p><p>Besides, Daphne wanted to figure out where Velma had gone.</p><p>The door to the dark bathroom was wide open, so Daphne knew Velma wasn't in there. However, she noticed a soft light coming from downstairs, so she silently slipped down the hall towards the staircase. She found herself back in the den, which was also dark, but a sliver of light shone from underneath the door to the mayor's study. Daphne was pretty sure the mayor himself was asleep upstairs, so she gently creaked the door open.</p><p>She found Velma sitting in the mayor's desk chair with her phone pressed up to her ear. Her laptop was open in front of her, and she didn't seem to notice Daphne looking at her from the doorway. Her eyes were tight, and her mouth was pulled into a slight frown as she listened to whatever the person on the other end of the line was saying.</p><p>"I don't know, Marce," she murmured. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"</p><p>Ah. She was on the phone with Marcie Fleach, another friend of theirs. Marcie had had a crush on Velma for a while last year, but now they were just friends. It was a crush that Daphne suspected had been mutual, but Velma was in love with Shaggy, and Daphne knew that feeling was stronger than anything else.</p><p>But why were they talking in the middle of the night?</p><p>There was a pause as Marcie responded to Velma's query.</p><p>"I still don't know how comfortable I am with it," Velma told her.</p><p>Another pause. Daphne furrowed her brow quizzically. <em>What are they talking about?</em></p><p>"Hmm. I guess that's better. Not much, though." Velma hesitated for a moment. "Okay. Will you call me after and let me know what happens?" She glanced up then and finally noticed Daphne staring inquisitively at her from the doorway. She held up a finger for her to wait. "Definitely. I'll tell the gang you said hello. Talk to you later."</p><p>She pressed the "end" button on the phone's screen and returned Daphne's gaze. "Marcie says hi."</p><p>"Hi back. Why's she calling you at one in the morning, and what's she doing that's making you uncomfortable?" Daphne cut right to the chase. There had been too many secrets lately – what with all the drama from the spring, and now the mayor's bombshell, Daphne was tired of it. She wanted everything out in the open between them now. Forever.</p><p>Velma sighed and beckoned for the redhead to join her in the office. Once Daphne was closer, Velma said in a whisper, "There's a second arraignment for Leon on Monday."</p><p>Daphne furrowed her brow. "Wait…second arraignment?"</p><p>Velma exhaled. "In a criminal trial," she explained. "The defendant is arraigned within twenty-four to forty-eight hours of his arrest. That's when the charges are first read before a judge, and the judge decides whether to set bail or not. That's what happened the night you all caught him in Fred's trap."</p><p>Daphne frowned. "I never learned what happened to him that night," she admitted. She hadn't <em>wanted </em>to know, and she certainly hadn't wanted to bring it up with Velma.</p><p>"I didn't know either," Velma replied. "But I guess Marcie's been following the proceedings. She told me that at his first arraignment they set bail way high after he pled 'not guilty.' His parents weren't able to raise the funds, so he's been in jail this whole time. But now there's been an appeal for a second arraignment – apparently Leon's lawyer thinks he can get the judge to let him go on house arrest pending his trial if he pleads 'no contest.'"</p><p>Daphne's brain was swimming. It was too late at night for this much information. Especially after everything they'd learned about Fred earlier. "Okay," she said finally. "So, Leon's second arraignment is on Monday. Why is Marcie calling you in the middle of the night to talk about it?"</p><p>Velma bit her lip. "She…wants to go," she admitted.</p><p>Daphne's heart twisted in her chest. No wonder Velma was uncomfortable – Leon was a dangerous, unhinged young man. His abduction of Velma in the spring had proven that. Daphne didn't want Marcie there either.</p><p>"That's a horrible idea," she murmured. "Why didn't you tell her no?"</p><p>Velma looked at her a little witheringly. "I'm not the boss of her, Daph," she informed her. "The best I could do was tell her how I felt about it. But she pointed out that he's going to be in custody, so he's not likely to try anything. And she told me that Tony and the band are going as well. She called them right before she called me." She exhaled. "You're right, though. I still don't like it."</p><p>Daphne sighed. The band, Heavy Meddle, was made up of Leon's former friends and college roommates, Priya Dandekar, Felix Barnwell, Julie St. James, and Joey Moretti, who was Tony's older brother. The band had been hired to play Coolsville High School's senior prom last month, which was how everyone had met. They were all good friends now.</p><p>"Well…I'm sure he won't make bail this time either," Daphne said, trying to sound reassuring – though she herself was doubtful. She bolstered her speech, taking on a comforting tone. "Besides, there's no way our parents would let us go on this road trip if they still thought we were in danger. Earlier tonight, Fred's dad – uh, the mayor, I mean – even said we were safe." Saying <em>Fred's dad </em>had been a reflex, but Daphne wasn't sure whether she should even think of the mayor as his dad anymore, after everything they'd learned tonight. She felt her cheeks flush a little pink, glad that Fred hadn't heard.</p><p>Velma's stomach twisted uneasily. They had much bigger problems to worry about than Leon. She needed to be a better friend to Fred right now. So, she sighed and glanced gratefully, but tiredly, back at Daphne. "I'm sure he's right," she murmured. "You go back to sleep. I'm going to stay up for a little longer. Do you think the mayor would mind if I stayed in here? I'm going to be reading and I don't want the light to disturb you."</p><p>Daphne shook her head. "I'm sure it's fine. See you in the morning." She turned to creep out of the office, and gently closed the door behind her. She tiptoed up the stairs and down the hall. When she arrived back in the guest room, she slipped under the covers to wait for Velma to return. But sleep claimed her first, and she drifted uneasily into slumber.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Official clues will be coming every other week, so nothing specific tonight, but there will be one next week! Check back here next Wednesday at 10pm EST for the next chapter. See you then!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! So sorry for this cliff-hanger, but hopefully your appetite has been whetted for the rest of the story, coming this summer. In the meantime, be sure to add this story to your alerts so that you can read the next chapter right away when it drops on Wednesday, May 12th, at or around 10pm. Comments are love!</p><p>This week's clue is the text message Fred received that reads "Heel 7."</p></blockquote></div></div>
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